Cayden Lindstrom is no longer sitting atop the Blue Jackets’ prospect list, and that drop says plenty about where things stand two years after Columbus took him fourth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Last summer, Lindstrom was ranked No. 1 on this list. Now he’s down at No. 6, with the Blue Jackets still waiting for the kind of season that would restore some of the buzz that came with that draft-night pick. The ranking, compiled by Matthew Duffey, Mike Stump, Weston Motz, Struan McNevan, and Curtis Deem, includes only players 24 and under with fewer than 25 NHL games.
The concern starts with health and doesn’t end there. Back issues were part of the conversation the moment Columbus called his name, and the belief at the draft was that he was on track to recover.
That hasn’t played out the way many expected. Even when Lindstrom was available for Michigan State last season, he didn’t exactly force the issue.
In 31 games for the Spartans, he produced 3 goals and 10 points and piled up 94 penalty minutes. That left him 16th on the team in scoring. For a player taken fourth overall, those numbers simply don’t move the needle.
The comparison that really stings is Porter Martone. Drafted sixth overall in 2025, Martone played on that same Michigan State team and put up 25 goals and 50 assists for 50 points in 35 games before jumping to the NHL and making an immediate impact for the Philadelphia Flyers late in the year. He’s also 9 months younger.
That’s the kind of season Lindstrom needed, and didn’t get. Instead, his year seemed to make headlines for the wrong reasons, whether it was another ailment or undisciplined play.
Still, the upside hasn’t disappeared. At 6'3" and 220 pounds, Lindstrom already has the build to handle a heavy game.
He’s physical, he’ll go to the dirty areas, and he doesn’t back away from contact. There’s also real skating ability there, along with enough skill to drive a line and take over shifts when everything clicks.
That’s why the Blue Jackets can’t afford another quiet year. He needs to stay healthy and put it all together at Michigan State this season.
If he does, the conversation changes fast. If he doesn’t, the doubts only get louder.
The players drafted around him have already started to separate themselves. Beckett Sennecke has 60 points in 82 games, while Ivan Demidov has 64 points in 84 games. Lindstrom, meanwhile, is still trying to prove he can become the kind of player Columbus hoped it was getting.
At the time of the pick, the Blue Jackets believed they were landing a possible No. 1 center. Two years later, that feels a lot less certain. The article’s view is that he may still be a long way from helping in Columbus, and the Eric Lindros comparisons don’t look like they’re going to come through.
The more realistic ceiling, as laid out here, is a Sam Bennett type: not a top scorer, but a useful middle-six piece who can contribute offensively and matter in important ways. For Lindstrom, the next step is simple enough to say and hard enough to do - have a big year, stay on the ice, and start closing the gap.
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